Jonian Rafti, Co-Chair

Bard College '15

Jonian Rafti is a recent graduate of Bard College, where he served as the the College’s first Vote Everywhere Ambassador. During his first year at Bard, Jonian founded Election@Bard. The nonpartisan voter engagement group promotes student voting rights in New York’s Dutchess County, a county with a history of student voting rights abuses. For his voting rights activism, he received the Robert Koblitz Human Rights Award in 2015.

After graduating, Jonian joined The Andrew Goodman Foundation and worked to expand and refine Vote Everywhere. Today, he sits on Bard’s Young Alumni Advisory Council and is a student at Fordham Law School, where he is a Public Interest Scholar at the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics.

Valencia Richardson, Co-Chair

Louisiana State University '16 2016-17 Fulbright Scholar

Valencia Richardson was the president and founer of LSU student civic engagement organization Geaux Vote LSU and a magna cum laude graduate from Louisiana State University. Valencia received her bachelor’s of arts in mass communication, with a concentration in political communication with a minor in Spanish. Additionally, Valencia is also a Fulbright scholar, certified Distinguished Communicator and recipient of Upper Division Honors from the LSU Honors College.

In 2014, Valencia co-founded Geaux Vote LSU, an on-campus student organization aimed at assisting LSU students in registering to vote, voting and absentee voting, and staying up-to-date on upcoming elections. In her capacity as president of Geaux Vote LSU, the organization was instrumental in registering hundred of students to vote, advocating for higher education funding as well as increasing voter accessibility on campus through policy initiatives. In fall 2016, Valencia pursued a Fulbright scholarship in Mexico City.

MacKenzie Bills

Simpson College '16 2016-17 Fulbright Scholar

MacKenzie graduated from Simpson College in 2016 with a BA in Political Science and International Relations with concentrations in French and Religion. MacKenzie cares deeply for Civic Engagement issues such as voter registration. She was able to serve as an Andrew Goodman Ambassador for two years and the Iowa Coordinator for Campus Election Engagement program where she worked with the Iowa Secretary of State's Office and Campus to develop a Lease Agreement for liberal arts students across the state of Iowa to properly register to vote on Election Day. Post-graduation, MacKenzie served as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti and will serve as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Malaysia during 2017 academic year. MacKenzie believes voter engagement and education is key to a prosperous democracy- she hopes to continue to work on these issues while serving on the Andrew Goodman Alumni Executive Board.

Angela De La Riva

Simpson College '16

Angela is a 2016 graduate of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, where she majored in Economics. During her time at Simpson, Angela served as President of Simpson Votes, President and Vice President of the Simpson College Democrats, as well as an Ambassador for the Andrew Goodman Foundation. Through working with Simpson Votes and the AGF, Angela helped to pioneer a lease agreement for all Simpson students, bring a satellite voting station to the college for the 2014 elections, and helped to register over 1,200 students to vote. Angela currently is working for a small technology company in their International Business department while also pursuing her Masters in Public Administration from Drake University.

Maydee Martinez

Miami Dade College '16 Georgetown University (COL '18)

Maydee Martinez is a graduate of Miami Dade College who studied Political Science and is currently a junior at Georgetown University majoring in Sociology with a minor in Government. In 2015, Maydee founded Democracy YOUnited, an educational program that focuses on voter registration, education, and engagement. She also helped found a non-profit organization, Engage Miami, with the goal of changing the culture of politics in her hometown Miami, Florida. Maydee is a 2016 Newman Civic Fellow and recipient of the 2016 Hidden Hero award.